Gregor and the Tunnels of Loss
by Jonowano
Summary: Gregor is tired of being in the Overland for over a year with any word from below. Finally, Gregor and Lizzie can't take it anymore and they escape to the Underland to find many disturbing changes. This is my first Fanfic so please review.
1. The Plan

It was hopeless; Gregor could not stop thinking about her. Those two purple eyes, her short blonde hair, her soft lips the elegant crown that was thrust upon her at such an early age, her arrogant smirk that she wore when she knew that she was right, and she was the only girl that Gregor had ever loved. Luxa. Luxa was the queen of Regalia, the human city in the Underland.

The Underland, the world miles underneath New York City and the source of all of Gregor's troubles. He had lost so much down there, and yet he felt like it was the only place that he belonged. Gregor wanted to go back to the Underland so bad, but his whole family had been forbidden to by his mother.

After they had gotten back from their last trip to the Underland, Gregor's mother had made sure that Gregor would not return to the Underland no matter what. That had been one year ago.

But Gregor was not the only member of his family who missed the Underland. Lizzie, his now nine year old sister, missed the Underland as well. She had friends in the Underland and she was treated like royalty whenever she was down there.

Gregor was lying in his bed remembering all of his memories of the alone time he had with Luxa when someone knocked on his door. "Come in." Gregor said.

Lizzie's worried face appeared from behind the door. "Can I talk to you?" She asked quietly.

"Of course Lizzie, come on up here." Gregor motioned to the empty part of his bed. "What's on your mind, Lizzie?" Gregor asked soothingly. He looked at her and realized that she had been crying.

"I can't take it anymore Gregor!" Her voice quivered as she said it. "I need to go back. I need to see Ripred!" She was crying now, Gregor stroked her hair as he tried to comfort her.

"I miss them too Lizzie, I miss them too." Then Gregor knew that it was time to tell her, now or never. "Lizzie," Gregor whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear through the walls. "I'm going back. I'm running away from home, and I'm going back to Regalia."

Lizzie gasped. "You are? Will you take me with you?" she asked immediately.

"If you do, you may never see Mom or Dad or Boots, or anyone in the Overland ever again. Do you want to do that?" Gregor asked.

"Yes, I want to go Gregor. I want to go where I belong." Lizzie said with a note of finality in her voice.

"Okay Liz, we will leave tonight. Bring two flashlights and a lot of batteries."

"But Gregor, we don't need the light I can use echolocation now, remember?" Lizzie said with a little smile.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot that you were a little stinker and you picked it up in two weeks after I started teaching you." Gregor said giving her a tickle on the stomach.

Lizzie gave a little giggle. "Okay, so we are going to the laundry room after everyone's asleep?" Lizzie asked, quickly getting back to business.

"Yup, and we are going to have to hope the currents strong or else we will have to hope for a bat to be there." Gregor said quickly, and then he added, "We are going home."


	2. Going Home

Gregor's blood was pumping, his vision was splintered showing him only what was important. Her eyes, her hands, her hair, her lips. Gregor's Rager side was merging with his love for Luxa, and Gregor embraced the feeling like two old friends. He was just reliving their first kiss when the door to his room silently opened.

"Gregor," Lizzie breathed. "It's time to go."

"Ok Liz." Gregor whispered.

Gregor got up as quiet as possible from his bed and crawled to the door, but before he left, he grabbed a small pocket flashlight he kept by his bed just to be safe. He then left his room and stood right next to a clearly excited Lizzie. "Okay, let's go before anyone sees us." Lizzie said.

Gregor's adrenaline level was sky high as they began their trek down the stairs. It had been Lizzie's idea to avoid the elevator incase it was to break and they also didn't want to be caught on film.

As they sprinted into the laundry room Gregor felt something that had been missing inside of him since he had left Regalia. Hope. Hope that he would be happy again, hope that he could have a life with Luxa, hope that he could be accepted again.

As Gregor and Lizzie pushed the dryer off the grate and yanked it open, he felt the wind that would take him to another world, a wind that had become a friend to Gregor while his mother was in the Regalian hospital, a friend called the currents. "I'll go in first just incase we meet trouble at the bottom." Gregor suggested at Lizzie's apprehensive look.

"Okay Gregor, lets go." Lizzie took a deep breath and exhaled.

And then Gregor was falling, the feeling was still unsettling to him, he had never truly got used to the feeling of plummeting into darkness, but he trusted that the currents would gently drop him once he reached the bottom. Using echolocation, Gregor was able to tell exactly how far he was from the ground. Then it was upon him and he landed.

As Lizzie landed next to him, Gregor "looked" at his surroundings with a click and the picture in front of him didn't make since to Gregor, so he clicked again. The same strange image appeared in his head, but maybe he was just out of practice with his echolocation. He pulled out the small light he had in his pocket and clicked it on.

"Wow." Gregor unintentionally spoke.

His eyes confirmed what his ears had shown him. Four humans on four rats were sitting in front of them. Gregor was shocked, where were the bats? What had happened in the Underland that suddenly gave rats a spot over bats? "Hello Overlanders. I am called Stephon we will be your escorts to Regalia." A tall muscular man with a startling scar down his chin and short cropped hair said.

"Wow, wait a second. Where are your bats- I mean your fliers?" Gregor needed to be more mindful of the Underland words.

"Ah Overlander, much has transpired since you and your family took your leave, but I shall let the Queen tell you of this. Ride you on my bond, Overlanders?" Stephon offered.

"Sure, okay. Thanks Stephon." Gregor and Lizzie climbed onto Stephon's black rat.

When they arrived at Regalia, Gregor was greeted by a sight that made his heart flutter and his Rager side roar. Luxa was wearing a beautiful spinner's silk lavender dress. Her violet eyes lit up when they met Gregor's. "Welcome back Overlander." The queen said with a playful smirk.

Gregor didn't respond verbally, he just walked up and kissed her.


	3. Luxa's Welcome

Gregor and Luxa's embrace was broken by the slight cough of one of the other members of the greeting party, Howard. Howard was Luxa's cousin and a good friend of Gregor's. He gave a slight smile not unlike the one that Luxa often wore herself.

Gregor looked around for the first time since he had gotten there. Other than Luxa and Howard, there was Gregor's good friend Perdita, Luxa's bat Aurora, and the princess of the fliers Nike the bat.

"Hey Howard, how's it going Gregor said in a weak attempt at shoving off the awkwardness.

"It is going quite well actually. We have almost restored Regalia to its pre-war glory." Replied Howard, he still had a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"That's great!" Gregor said in an upbeat voice, but then he quickly changed his tone. "So what's going on with the humans and the fliers?"

"Ah Gregor," Luxa sighed her face now downcast. "Much has happened, and I am most troubled to say so. Let us walk to the palace as we talk."

So as they walked Luxa gave Gregor the awful news. The bats had turned on the humans, all except a few loyal bats like Aurora and Nike. "Why would they do that? They have been bonding with humans since good ol' Sandwich came down here!" Gregor shouted indignantly.

"It was because I made that bond to the rats last time you were here, Gregor. The Fliers were deeply offended that their bonds were now also bonding to a species that had killed so many of there own." Luxa looked on the verge of tears.

"Hey, we can work this out," Gregor whispered to her as he put his arm around her. "Maybe we can work out a treaty or something."

"No Gregor, you don't understand, we are at the start of a second war! We can't reason with them, that time passed when they declared war." Luxa said stonily as she hardened her face into what appeared to be her queenly face.

When they arrived at the palace, Gregor was greeted by even more familiar faces. Gregor saw Mareth and Vickus and Temp and- "RIPRED!" Lizzie shouted as she ran into the giant scarred rat's warm embrace. Gregor had nearly forgotten that Lizzie was with him until just then, major big bro points for that one.

"I missed you too, Lizzie!" Ripred said in the most sincere voice that Gregor had ever heard uttered from that furry mass. Then to Gregor he said, "It's about time you got here Overlander, we thought you had forgotten about us down here."

"Well, it's not that easy to forget about everything down here, now is it Ripred?" Gregor retorted, although secretly glad that Ripred was here.

"Welcome back Gregor!" Vickus said with as much of a smile as he could manage with only the use of the left side of his body after a stroke paralyzed the use of the right side of his body. He was sitting in a sort or wheel chair pushed by none other than one of Gregor's favorite people in the Underland, Mareth.

Mareth was a soldier and trainer for the Regalian army, but he had lost a leg in Gregor's second journey into the Underland. He now wore a prosthetic leg which was working for his just fine he hobbled over to Gregor and gave him a rib crushing hug. "Welcome back Overlander." Mareth said with his face lit up.

"It's good to be back." Gregor said as he was released from the suffocating hug.

"Ripred, Ripred! I've got something to tell you!" Lizzie shouted, literally bouncing up and down with anticipation.

"Okay, what is it?" Ripred asked patiently.

"I can use echolocation now!" Lizzie burst out. "Gregor taught me as soon as we got home!" Lizzie was ginning ear to ear.

"Wow, I'm impressed!" Ripred said. "I didn't think Gregor could teach a Shiner to be a complaining glutton." Everyone laughed at that one, even Gregor who was just glad to be with Luxa again.

Gregor slowly reached out for Luxa's hand and their fingers intertwined. That's when Gregor knew that he had made the right choice in returning.


	4. The Ramblings of Sandwich

Gregor woke with a start. Where was he? Gregor clicked and "saw" that he was inside of the palace in a small room with Lizzie and they were sharing a bed. Then Gregor managed to recall what had happened when they had entered the palace.

After first entering the palace, Gregor and Lizzie had a meal while Luxa and the others told Gregor of the current prophecy. Sandwich ramble, Gregor thought to himself. Gregor had very little confidence in the original Underlander at the moment. He had predicted Gregor's death on his last trip to the Underland. And yet here was Gregor, still alive and kicking.

They had found the prophecy in the Gnawers land, that's why they had never known of it. Sandwich had been captured he died and he made a prophecy while in the custody of the rats, but it was addressed to humans. It was titled The Prophecy of Loss.

When your greatest of allies leave

And your greatest of enemies come to aid,

Will you go to retrieve

Your warriors light, or shall you let it fade?

To save to warriors light

You must travel out of sight.

Take your people underground.

And if you wish to not be found,

You must give up your city without a fight.

If you save the light of the Warrior from death

Many of your people will lose their breath.

But if you have the Warrior to fight,

You may return the city to its owners of right.

But not before the warrior loses his light.

Gregor hadn't really had a chance to think about the prophecy last night because he was so wiped out from getting no sleep the previous night that he went straight to bed after the meal. But now that he was rested, he saw the Sandwich had once again predicted his death, great.

Lizzie knew nothing of the newest prophecy, and Gregor was determined to keep it that way. She had fallen asleep before Luxa and Vickus decided to tell him. Gregor decided to begin deciphering the prophecy since he didn't want to get out of bed.

Okay, so the first two lines were easy, the humans' greatest allies were the bats, and they had left. The enemies were the rats, and now they were coming to aid the Regalians.

But the next two lines made no sense at all! In the Underland, the word light and the world life could be used interchangeably. But how do you retrieve somebody's light? Gregor would have to ask Vickus about that later.

The next stanza basically stated that all of Regalia had to go underground to save Gregor's light, and they would have to give up the whole city with out a fight. Gregor couldn't imagine how this made Luxa feel, this was her city, her people, and Sandwich told her that she had to do it. The worst part was that Gregor knew that Luxa would do it.

So this last part was some big stuff with lots of death. If they saved Gregor's light, a lot of Regalians and their allies would die. But if Gregor fought, Regalia would once again belong to the humans. But Gregor was supposedly going to be dead before the latter happened.

Oh Sandwich, don't you wish that I would die. Gregor thought. But I'm above your stupid little ramblings, you don't tell me what to do! I am Gregor the Overlander, and I don't take orders from anyone!

"Gregor, can you come here please?" Luxa whispered through the doorway.

Well at least not from Sandwich.


End file.
